JAPETH Aguilar played with dengue in Barangay Ginebra’s 100-93 win over NorthPort Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The veteran big man had to be sparingly used by Coach Tim Cone since as he admitted; he has not been feeling well the past two games of the team against TNT and Meralco.

“Maganda naman yung pag-manage ni coach sa akin,” said Aguilar, who’s being put on IV in his house the past two days.

He is not actually allowed by his doctors to play given his condition.

“Pero nag iingat naman ako,” said Aguilar.

With Ginebra now having a lock of playing in the best-of-three quarter finals series, Cone plans to sit out Aguilar in the Kings’ final elimination game against Phoenix.

Ginebra vs Northport recap

On the other hand, Barangay Ginebra welcomed the return of Coach Tim Cone with a bang, scoring a 100-93 beating of NorthPort to snap out of a two-game skid in its PBA Philippine Cup campaign Sunday night.

The Kings went on a third quarter tear to pull away from the Batang Pier before surviving some anxious moments in the homestretch of a game that marked the return of Cone on the Ginebra bench.

Scottie Thompson had a near triple double of 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists in the win that put the Kings back in solo third place at 7-3.

Cone missed the team’s previous four games after serving as part of the Miami Heat coaching staff in the NBA Summer League.

“Sometimes you need a little kick in the rear end to get yourself going. I think that last two games gave us that kick in the rear,” said Cone during the post-game presser at the Willie Caballes Hall of the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Kings lost back-to-back games against TNT Tropang Giga (106-92) and Meralco (90-73).

“And we understood that if we want to try and compete again for a championship, we have to play with a lot of fire, vigor, and energy.”

The Kings came a little bit flat in the first 12 minutes of play, but found a hot hand in John Pinto during the second quarter when the tough-playing guard had 11 of his total 18 points that turned a six-point deficit into a 47-42 lead at the break.

The win locked Barangay Ginebra’s shot of playing in a best-of-three series in the quarterfinals that kicks off next week.

Pinto went 4-of-6 from three-point range, Japeth Aguilar had 14 points and eight rebounds despite being afflicted with dengue, LA Tenorio with 13, and Chan 11 for the Kings.

NorthPort still has a slim chance for the eighth and final quarter finals spot with its 3-7 record, but needed to win its remaining game against NLEX on Friday to stay in contention.

Robert Bolick had eight three pointers for a game-high 29 points for the Batang Pier.

The last of his three pointers moved NorthPort to within 89-94 with 2:43 to play, but it was the closest the Batang Pier could get against the Kings.

Come the second half, Thompson, Pinto, and Jeff Chan connived as the Kings erected their largest lead at 80-58.

The scores

• Ginebra (100) — Thompson 23, Pinto 18, J.Aguilar 14, Tenorio 13, Chan 11, Standhardinger 9, Pringle 8, Mariano 4, Dillinger 0.

• NorthPort (93) — Bolick 29, Malonzo 19, Santos 14, Ferrer 13, Balanza 6, Taha 6, Sumang 4, Calma 2, Dela Cruz 0, Ayaay 0.

Quarter Scores: 20-26; 47-42; 80-60; 100-93.